


Colubridae

by MichaelMell (GalacticTwink)



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Blood and Violence, Canon-Typical Violence, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Isolation, M/M, Minor Character Death, Minor Original Character(s), Original Character Death(s), Running Away, Sakura Is A Bitch, Self-Acceptance, Sound Village, This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things, poor naruto
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-15
Updated: 2017-10-20
Packaged: 2018-12-20 17:08:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11925402
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GalacticTwink/pseuds/MichaelMell
Summary: Naruto can't take it any more. Even after he brought Sasuke back from nearly joining their enemy, it wasn't good enough for them and it never will be. So, he ran. From his village, from his friends, and from himself. He wanted to leave his problems behind him and destroy himself entirely in the process. And he did. Moving from one small village to the next, each time with a new name and face. But that can't last forever. Someone picks him up off the side of the road, where he otherwise would've been done for, and it wasn't a face he ever expected to see again. But maybe.. the unexpected was exactly what he needed. [Hiatus]





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright!! I'm really excited to be putting this up, though I wasn't planning to start updates on this fic until next week lmao. My last Naruto fic was super fun and seems to've been enjoyed so let's just jump straight in!

**"Kurama"**

_**'Naruto to** **Kurama'** _

* * *

    Everything is bright and white around Naruto when he opens his eyes, stinging his eyes and making his baby blue’s water slightly. He’s alone in the slate white room, sunlight bouncing off the blank colour, making everything unnaturally light and frying the already dead flowers sitting in their nearly empty vase. Well, it’s actually a mason jar. And Naruto is pretty sure those are the white lacey looking weeds he sees everywhere.He isn’t hooked up to anything, and based on all the blood caked on his skin it must’ve been a while since anyone has been in here. The blonde pushes himself up and slides out of bed, finding that he’s still wearing the ripped up, bloody clothes he was in when he drug himself into the village. No one cares to stop him as he leaves to stroll through the hall, guiding himself to a closed door with a familiar chakra behind it.

    “Sasuke?” The room is thankfully empty, save for the unmoving Uchiha swaddled up in the hospital blankets. Sunlight is streaming in, but the window doesn't face the sun and bathes the room in soft gold; rather than harsh morning light. Fresh daisies are soaking in the rays, arranged artfully around one beautiful blue hydrangea. Naruto thought Sasuke was allergic to pollen. The boy is asleep, pale skin turning porcelain in the gentle light and pink lips curved softly down in a frown even while he sleeps. Naruto touches his face, sliding his fingertips across his smooth skin and sighing gently to himself. His sun is shining and his crops are thriving. Sasuke is like the cool rain that ends years of drought. God, he's beautiful. And like the supposed heavens could hear his heart, black eyelids fluttered to reveal warm chocolate eyes to the jinchuriki. Naruto pauses, fingers still splayed out on the Uchiha's skin while he comes back to awareness.

    “..Naruto?” He could just die right there and that would be fine. Sasuke lifts a hand, fingers closing around Naruto’s wrist; lifting his hand up and away from his face, with help from its owner of course. How much does he remember?

    “I'm sorry-”

    “Thank you.” They speak at the same time, Sasuke’s voice softer but more level; shining through over Naruto's hurried apology.

    “You're..”

    “Most, uh, most of the blood is yours.” He looks down and wow, he's drenched. His right side is dyed completely red, and both sleeves of his jacket match. Sure, some of it is his, but more than half isn't.

    “I know that, but it's nearly been a week; why haven't you changed?” Naruto shrugs, not really having an answer to that one. They probably didn't want to touch him. Sasuke tosses something up at Naruto, revealing itself to be a black shirt; complete with the Uchiha emblem embroidered on the back.

    “They keep bringing things in for me, why don't you take one?” He looks at it, but can't think of a good reason to say no. Naruto turns around to peel his jacket and undershirt off, not helping him to feel any less dirty with all the red stained onto his skin but helping to at least make him less uncomfortable; especially when the cool black fabric touches his skin. Damn, what's this made of? It's way nicer than anything Naruto has ever had on his body before.

    “Thanks.” That was lame, but Sasuke grins anyway.

    “The fan looks good on yo-” he doesn't get to finish the line, the abrupt slam of a door cutting it off as they're joined by another party.

    “Sasuke! You're awake already!” Pink hair askew and face red, Sakura seems to have come back with even more flowers that will make Sasuke sneeze.

    “He's allergic to pollen Y'know.” She looks at Naruto, and that's all she has to do. She doesn't have to say a thing and he would know exactly what she's thinking. But she opens her mouth anyway.

    “Who let you in here, Naruto? What are you doing to Sasuke?” He takes a quick step back, attention snapping up to his other teammate. This is his big moment. She’s going to congratulate him for bringing Sasuke home. She’s going to ask him if he wants to go out so they can celebrate.

    “Did the nurse let you in here, Naruto? I thought they'd keep you out, so you don't hurt him any more than you already have.” Naruto flinches. Ouch. Sasuke doesn't say anything, and Sakura knows that she made her point and doesn't need to say any more. She even moves out of the way for Naruto so he can scurry out of the room. He hears her say something behind him, probably about what he's wearing, but he doesn't want to talk about it.

    The sun is still rising outside, but there's people out and mulling around anyway. Naruto avoids them like clowns at a carnival, steering out of the open and opting to take a back alley home instead. He knows them well, and at this time of day all the kids should be at school or getting ready for it so he shouldn't need to worry about that unless- something clips his arm, hitting the brick in front of him with a loud thud and a cloud of dust.

    “You guys are gonna be late for school. Don't tell me you're waiting around just for me.” Naruto turns around, flinching when their aim improves and a small stone hits his cheek. Of course it doesn't hurt, being only two inches or so, but his feelings suffer greatly. The little boys snicker at him, each with one hand in their pockets and the other already filled with small rocks. Really, where do they even get so many of them? Do they come back every day and pick them up off the ground?

    “Hey.. we are going to be late. Maybe we should-”

    “Go faster? You're reading my mind.”

    “No, An, we can't be late to class so many times; Iruka will be really mad this time. And if you're late any more times he's going to talk to your parents about it!” They go back and forth, the shorter blonde kid grabbing onto An’s arm to drive in whatever point he was making. Naruto wants to go home.

    “So, are you two a couple?” Evidently, they forgot he was there at all and both of them jumped when he spoke up.

    “Ye-”

    “Shut up!” The taller boy throws everything he had in his hand, consisting of several rocks, a cloud of dust, and a silver ring. Naruto catches the ring, letting the rocks and marble bounce off his skin. The little scratches close almost as soon as they're inflicted. These little shits are adorable; Naruto loves kids. They run out; first An and then him again as he takes the rest of the other kid’s because he wasn't fast enough.

    “Run off now, okay? You're really late, and here this must've come off your-” the kid smacks Naruto when he gets too close, screeching something Incoherent about the demon attacking him before he and his little buddy scamper off. He looks down at the little ring, rolling it between his fingers and assessing it to be a men's wedding band that's been dramatically resized. The blonde tucks it into his pocket, shrugging and just continuing on his way. The alley ends, leaving Naruto out on the open street for the rest of his walk. The rest of the system is too crowded with deals at this hour, and he'd rather take his chances with getting stoned, beaten up, or at best verbally shamed. Maybe everyone is already off on their way to work?

    “Oh, he finally killed Sasuke; look at that!”

    “Poor kid, it wasn't fair to stick with with a demon. They shouldn't have even graduated him.”

    “We should've killed him.”

    “We tried.” Naruto keeps his head ducked down, walking quickly past any loitering civilians that he can't fight. He finds his key and clicks it into both locks on his splintering wood door; scrubbed past the grain to remove layer after layer of spray paint over the years. The blonde relocks three mechanisms, doing them all twice just in case before he even steps inside; slipping off his shoes and walking across the hardwood. He does have a rug, but it's so threadbare that it doesn't make much of a difference. Naruto touches the lock on every window as he walks past, making sure any take is still secured and his heavy blinds are all the way down and not allowing any light to slip inside. The floor is clean, but not at the same time. Nothing litters the floor, and he sweeps regularly, but it's never actually clean. Just decent. But Naruto's room is completely clean, the wooden floor properly scrubbed regularly to ensure its cleanliness. The window beside his bed is covered completely, several layers of blackout curtains taped and stapled over the badly cracked glass. Naruto takes off Sasuke’s shirt and drapes it over a chair, and tosses the rest of his clothes in the basket so he can clean up and put on something clean that won’t get him killed. He walks back through the house to make sure everything is okay again, touching all three locks on the door just in case. Once everything is definitely okay, Naruto takes a seat in his bedroom and takes a deep breath. The meditation calms his mind and settles his nerves; hands clasped together and back straight but not tense. The hiss of a spray can interrupts him, making him sigh and just give up on that. It’s probably barely midday, but Naruto decides that it’s bedtime already. Or, finally. Whatever the case may be, he climbs into bed to just hope that maybe tomorrow will be awesome. Yeah, everyone will congratulate him on getting Sasuke home tomorrow now that they’re both feeling better.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If there's anyone who read my previous fic here( not related to this one) & wondering about the Rick and Morty fic, I'm posting the first chapter of that one on Wednesday the 20th!


	2. Chapter 2

  Naruto is up, as always, before the sun is, though by the time he's up and ready to start the day he can just barely see the rays of pink stretching up into the sky. He has to take it easy on the morning training, since he's been out of the game for a while, but easy doesn't mean nothing and the blonde will never skip morning stretches if he can help it. And he can. After a rinse and a change of clothes, he can actually leave his place; taking the high way over buildings and through trees instead of being anywhere near the ground. High up over everything, Naruto spots a few of his friends gathering around each other and speaking just low enough for him to not pick much of it up. What he does catch isn't all that informative without context, but is definitely hinting at some kind of bigger gathering. Instead of jumping down to join them, the jinchuriki decides to practice his tailing skills and just follows them for a while. Shikamaru keeps looking back, but he's the only one that seems to notice that their group is being followed. Speaking of his shadowy friend, their small group of four, him, Sakura, Ino, and Kiba, stop at his house and file inside. Naruto's kunoichi teammate leaves a few minutes later by herself. Huh. He swings fully up onto the tree branch he's sitting on. It might take a while to see this is play out, and it would be awkward for him to just go in. Naruto isn't sure how long he was there, but after a while more of his friends start to show up and filter in, finally finishing off the party with his other two teammates; though one is definitely being dragged by the other. The blonde jumps down to jog after them, landing expertly on his feet and self consciously glancing around to make sure no one saw that. He catches the door behind Sakura, squirming in behind her and Sasuke but nearly falling right back onto the porch when the shouting started. There's so many voices, Naruto can't actually catch most of what they said past a congratulations for Sasuke.

    “Hey, shut up! Everyone stop talking at the same time!” The whole place goes silent. Smart people. Sakura places her hand on Sasuke's shoulder, gripping him even as he recoils and shoving his poor broken body forward. He probably isn't even supposed to be out of bed.

    “Hey, Sakura you shouldn’t push him around like that! He’s still healing!” she turns around so quickly her hair smacks their teammate across the face, but her own tells Naruto that she’d like to do worse to him.

    “Naruto! What are you even _doing_ here? I’m sure Sasuke doesn’t want to see you.” said ninja tries to say something, but their pink haired teammate shushes him and pats his head; making him cringe.

    “Hey, stop touching me-” she silences him again, zeroing her fiery gaze straight onto Naruto even while neutralising her poor wounded teammate.

    “He doesn’t want to see me? I’m the one that almost died bringing him home!” he looks from her to Sasuke, not holding any of that anger for the poor guy even while he’s shouting. Huh. Naruto catches sight of a cute banner hung up, his frown dipping further down. Are they not even going to..

    “Come on, what’s that look for? You almost killed him! That doesn’t exactly scream ‘great party guest’ does it? Why would you even want to be here?” What do you even say? If this is already how things are, what could Naruto say? Obviously she's convinced that Sasuke miraculously rescued himself and killed all of the sound four just for him to come along and beat him up.

    “You're lucky Tsunade didn't punish you for hurting him so badly, just look at him.” She's going to say more but bitter anger is bubbling up inside Naruto and he can't just stand here and take it.

    “Sakura, he came home unconscious with a dislocated shoulder, some cuts and a fracture in his wrist. I-” she interrupts him, but he doesn't even hear a word she says over the rush of blood in his ears. Naruto just speaks up; he's yelling now.

    “ _I_ came home carrying his dead weight, with three broken ribs, a gaping hole through my chest, and enough cuts and wounds on my body to leave a trail of blood behind me.” He didn't want to mention the fracture on his skull or the broken ankle, since they were already gone by the time he got to the village. When Kurama wakes up Naruto really has to thank him. Actually, it feels like he's already awake now.

    “You ran ahead of your team-”

    “I killed all of the sound four before they could even touch Sasuke!” The jinchuriki’s vision is going red as he grows more and more upset.

    “He wanted to betray us so badly he would've killed me for it! He-” Sakura smacks him across the face, her hand coming back with burns streaked across it and the silence behind her breaking. He didn't even touch her. But he wants to, Naruto would love to return the blow to her times ten and he could. He swings back, curling his wrist and readying himself for the impact, but he can't. Not because he cares about Sakura and that she's afraid of him, but Because of the mirrored look of horror he found on Sasuke's face. What Naruto already did to him didn't scare him away, it can't happen now. He can't destroy what the Uchiha thinks of him. That's the only opinion he still cares about. He lowers his hand, giving the smaller girl in front of him her nerve back; but Naruto isn't looking at her. Only the pure relief on the raven beside her’s face. Sasuke catches the blonde staring, flashing him a look that said he wanted to speak, but he didn't get the chance.

    “Naruto! Don't you know to listen when someone is talking to you?” He hadn't know she was talking at all.

    “I _told you_ ,” she's like some kind of banshee, “that you should _go_.” She sweeps her arm out, indicating that Naruto should leave. He doesn't move.

    “Naruto. You don't _belong_ here.” The words hit him harder than any blow, echoing through his mind and shattering the fragile little idea of family that he had. Him and Sakura and Sasuke and Kakashi, but he can't go with that anymore. He doesn't belong there anymore. Naruto turns and leaves, letting the door slam behind him and taking off in a dead run down the street. For once he gets a wide path, people backing away and getting out of his path as they see him coming. The blonde doesn't realise how fast he's going, red bubbling around him and hiding the tears dripping down his face. He's greeted by a memory he doesn't want to see anymore upon arriving at his destination, picking up the frame and acquainting the glass pane on it with the wall; letting go of it and allowing the shower of shards to hit the ground. Fuck it, why is he still here? The outside of his apartment is coated in spray paint, all the windows of his place have been broken countless times, he can't go anywhere without getting looks and people whispering about him. Children throw rocks at him and adults do worse. If the only reason he had to stay is gone, why would he still be here tomorrow? He won't be. He doesn't belong here, and he never did. Naruto takes a bag and throws some important things inside; cleanish clothes, his ninja tools, some books that Kakashi gave him, a few pictures that he wants to keep, and a bottle of sake that Jiraiya gave him for his last birthday. The blonde sets his hair free, untying his headband and tossing it down onto the bed. He doesn't need it anymore. Naruto locks the door on his way out, but he doesn't plan on coming back; slipping off using one of his shortcuts to get away unnoticed.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took two whole weeks to write and is 6 full pages on google docs

    Naruto only thought about turning back once. Sure, he'll never see anyone he's ever made a connection with again, and sure he'll never see probably the only person he could ever love again. That didn't bother him. But, would his teacher be able to find him now after he's left? Naruto is easy enough to track if you really want to find him but.. would Jiraiya want to? He just left behind everything that makes, well, himself. What's left after you strip away the smile painted on his lips? Naruto doesn't know the answer to that yet. He marches on, watching the sun make its way through the sky and following its path. As the great star began to set, Naruto found himself nearing where he knows a small village should be. It's too small and gets too little traffic to warrant any kind of inn, but it does have a bar and it's isolated enough to not be in direct contact with Konoha. He stops off at a small stream first, kneeling beside the rushing water and gazing down into his own eyes. He's so recognisable. Naruto smacks his hands together, putting out a quick henge jutsu and visualising the most boring appearance he can. It takes several minutes for him to be sure it's strong and detailed, but the jinchuriki is pleased with his results. He's now looking into muddy brown eyes, matching the dark colour of his now straight hair and only a few shades darker than his muted skin tone. He dulled down his facial structure, taking down his high cheekbones and smoothing over his jawline but not so much to make him look like a child. He even tweaked his clothes, making them a navy colour and taking off the uzumaki swirl he usually wears with pride. Perfect. Now he can go in and leave, and no one will even remember seeing him. He tests out his voice, projecting a little less and moving his sound from his throat down to his chest to make his voice maybe half an octave deeper. Naruto saunters in like he owns the place, taking a page from his sensei’s book on how to walk into a bar. The tall, tattooed man behind the bar raises an eyebrow at him as he plops down on a stool, continuing to just look at him even after the jinchuriki sort of nods at him.

    “Listen kid,” the man sets down a glass in front of the now brunette, filling it with amber liquid and giving it a push towards him, “I don't wanna know how old you are, but if you go and tell anyone I'm serving minors you're dead.” Naruto chuckles a little, tipping his glass in the bartender’s direction before he takes a sip. Wow. It's terrible. He's had sake before, but this definitely isn't the same as the sweet rice wine. Whatever, he doesn't want it for the taste. This works for Jiraiya, so here's to him. He sips at his drink and chats absently with the bartender, who he now knows as Daisuke, enjoying feeling so.. free. No Kakashi, no Sakura, no Sasuke to try to impress. Just Naruto.

    “Hey, hot stuff.” Naruto looks up, not impressed by the line but still startled by the voice. He could only describe the boy beside him as a kid, no older than himself and possibly younger than that even; but the jinchuuriki's eyes stick on him. His ginger hair is windswept and covers a good half of his face, but the half uncovered shows Naruto freckle spattered skin and a beautiful green iris framed with metal. Despite looking younger, the kid is a full head taller than Naruto. He plops down on the stool beside the brunette, giving him an easy smile. He should probably say something.

    “Hey yourself.” He shoots back almost playfully, cupping both hands around his still mostly full glass and looking back at the guy.

    “Can I buy you a drink?” He glances down at Naruto's hands, just now seeing that he already has the better part of a drink. The jinchuriki was going to accept just to be nice but-

    “Oh, uh, you already have one.” He laughs, giving Naruto a grin that could melt the best of men; chipped front tooth and all.

    “I'm Itsuki, by the way.” Itsuki sticks out a hand, his dark sleeve falling back so Naruto can take the freckled hand with his own.

    “Sora.” He picks a name at random, hoping that it's common enough to not stick him with a location immediately. Some names are universal, and others just scream ‘Konoha’.

    “Sora, huh? It suits you. Those eyes are deep enough to have a Universe* in them.” His henge must be better than Naruto thought, or this kid is already drunk; but he's willing to say it's his jutsu, based on how Itsuki is acting. Jiraiya is never this coherent when he's drunk. They chat over liquor and gummy candies, and Itsuki hits on Naruto as much as physically possible while they're still enjoying a pleasant conversation.

    “Alright kiddos, I've gotta kick you out. My regular crowd’ll be in soon. Rowdy bunch.” Daisuke shoos them out into the night air, now left to their own devices under the stars.

    “So, what do-” Itsuki kisses him, cold hands cupping Naruto's heated face and tugging the jinchuriki closer. His eyes went wide, but settled down and closed to let the boy kiss him.

    “How long are you staying in town?”

    “I'm just passing through, can't stay long.” The kid kisses him again, wrapping both arms around Naruto and locking their lips kind of badly.

    “Hey, how old are you?” Itsuki rolls his eyes, releasing the jinchuriki to take his hand instead.

    “How old are _you_?” Fair enough. Naruto lets the boy tug him down the street, climbing up a fire escape behind him and pulling himself up onto the roof of the building with ease.

    “Are you a ninja?” Itsuki sits with his legs swung over the edge of the building, looking back at Naruto with a grin stretched across his face.

    “Are you?” He throws back, sitting next to the other boy and letting his gaze settle squarely on him.

    “I'm not. Didn't come from a ninja village. Some of the arts are easy enough to pick up though. Like scaling a building of this size without making a sound or breaking a sweat.” Naruto laughs, leaning back and relaxing a little.

    “Yeah, you caught me. I'm a ninja born and raised.” Itsuki laughs at him, making Naruto's heart just ache. What a beautiful sound. What's a sweet kid like this doing way out here?

    “What's a big bad ninja doing out here? Shouldn't you be out saving virgins and defending the honour of feudal lords?” He snorts. Is that what ninjas are to civilians? The defenders of honour and the innocent?

    “Yknow, we aren't all we're cracked up to be. You'll find more corruption than good in some places.”

    “So, you've been to Konoha. Anywhere that a kid can kill that many people and get away can't be right.” Wow, Itachi must be famous. But itsuki is right. If you're looking for corruption you don't have to go any further than the Hidden Leaf. A lot of the best and the worst ninja come from the village, but it gets hard to tell the difference between the two sometimes.

    “They think they're hotshots because they have the nine-tails, but I doubt they could ever get the beast to fight for them. Have you heard about the mess Suna made of their beast?” Naruto shakes his head, but Itsuki doesn't elaborate on it. The kid looks so peaceful, head tilted back and moonlight reflecting off his pale skin as he gazes up at the stars with wide eyes.

    “I always wanted to be a ninja. But I was born in a place that just didn't do that sort of thing. Ninja from other places came to protect us and we all learned to do our own craft.”

    “And what's that?” He looks over at Naruto, eyebrows scrunched together in confusion.

    “What's what?”

    “The craft.” He laughs, pushing naruto a little before directing the jinchuriki’s gaze up to the sky above them.

    “Do you see that?” He outlines the bow a few times, making sure that his companion does indeed see it.

    “Well that's something that works right? You can use a bow for a lot of different stuff and all the parts of it go together. Well that's my home village. Everyone had a job and they all worked together to do our craft; we made ninja tools. So if that's the village, this is me.” He traces his finger away from the arrow and off to the North Star.

    “The North Star is separate and all by itself. That's me. I'm.. doing my own thing. I didn't want to be in their collective.” Naruto appreciates that; it isn't easy being the black sheep in the flock, but Itsuki seems to be happy with that.

    “Hold this for me?” He startled the brunette out of his thoughts, holding a small knife out to him handle first. Naruto takes it, squinting down at the engraving on the metal that he just barely can’t make out. Itsuki pulls up into a crouch, leaning over the edge of the room and scanning the surrounding area carefully. Naruto goes to say something, but he’s waved off and hushed. They stay there in silence, the ginger boy’s hand folded to his own side and flipping straight out at Naruto within a second; fingers outstretched and ready to take his blade back. He takes it by the handle and pulls it back, expertly taking aim and tossing it down towards the ground below.

    “Well, we should probably get out of here.” He stands and stretches, offering a hand to the jinchuriki as well. Naruto can’t help but look down, the knife he’d been holding now hilt deep in the neck of someone down below them; blood squirting slowly from the wound and staining the ground.

    “Who-“

    “Hell if I know. He pissed somebody off.” Itsuki shrugs, scaling down the building with ease and leading the other boy off down the street.

    “I’m set up off the village a ways; you want to come back with me?”

* * *

 

  Itsuki skims his fingers through Sora’s hair, pushing the brown locks away from his sweat slicked skin; tracing down over his face and over the already faded bruising on the other boy’s throat. Everything about him has a light henge over it, but Itsuki gets it. He must have a lot of chakra to keep it up while he’s asleep; though hair and little things like don’t take a lot. The white spiderwebs carved into Sora’s golden skin are strikingly genuine, scattered up his arms and legs in morbid uniformity; obviously done with a steady hand. The ginger smiles to himself, sitting up fully and letting Sora take most of the blanket in favour of digging out his sketchbook. His new companion’s face is immortalised on the paper, both sleeping and awake and almost all with a smile drawn across his face.

    “God, what an angel.” Itsuki has never met someone so torn up that can smile like that. He sure can’t. He flips a page, adding his own likeness beside Sora. He was in the middle of a very important portrayal of the face the brunette had made when he came when something caught his attention, a sound tugging at the very edges of Itsuki’s hearing. He squirms away from the arm resting against him, setting aside his book to get closer to whatever’s making noise out there. Once he’s outside their tent it’s more clear and getting closer. He throws a knife. Ouch, Itsuki feels like a monster. The little dog stumbles up to him, the blade sticking out of his leg slowing him. A ninja dog. Itsuki pulls out the knife and brings the dog into their tent to fix him up and get dressed.

    “Hey, Sora, get up.” He shakes the kid, shoving his stuff into his bag and gathering the dog up in his arms. This is his now.

    “Sora.” he tries again, pushing on his face this time and getting him to respond; wrinkling up his face and slowly blinking open his eyes.

    “A dog?”

    “Ninja dog. We have to go.” he gets up with more urgency, pulling up onto his knees to scoop up his clothes and start turning them right side in. Itsuki can’t help but give the guy a hug, dropping the dog and wrapping both arms around the unnaturally warm kid and pressing a few soft kisses onto his shoulder.

    “What happened to ‘we have to go’?” he laughs, releasing Sora so he can get dressed and help pack shit up.

    “Are we keeping the dog?”

    “Yes.” Sora nods in approval, reaching over to pet the dog but pulling his hand away when it almost bites him. Ninja dogs are like non-ninja cats sometimes.

    “Did you see any ninja or just the dog?” Itsuki shrugs, peeking out of the tent again to look. There’s no one out there, but he can already hear more movement. He leaves the tent and zips it closed behind him, pulling a knife out of his bag and setting the dog back down.

    “Go on, lead me to your master.” the little dog waddles away, its injured leg still hindering it but not breaking its spirit. Itsuki follows the little guy, catching a glimpse of green before it disappears again.

    “Mm, a Konoha nin then.. Where’d you go?”

    “Sora! Hey, are you ready to go yet? I think I saw-” he cuts off, biting down harshly on his lip to keep the rest in. Sora comes out shortly, bag packed and henge just a little better than it had been while he was asleep.

    “What did you see?” He glances around the area but doesn’t see anything, including the dog that Itsuki was carrying earlier.

    “Do you believe in love at first sight?” He asks, tilting his head to look Sora straight in the eye.

    “Uh- I’m not sure I-“

    “When you just look at a person, and even though you don’t know them yet you know that they’re the one.” Sora fidgets a little and nods vaguely, tugging on his own hair and then trying to smooth it back out.

    “I guess that I-“

    “Hey, Sora, do you know how to dress a stab wound?” His eyes widen, and Itsuki laughs at the boy as he pulls his hands away from the wound; turning both hands palm towards the brunette so he can see the blood. The kunai is still sticking out of his side, but Itsuki can already feel the warm sting of poison dripping into his system. His knees buckle and he falls into Sora’s arms, bringing the kid down to the ground with him.

    “Itsuki-“ he pulls the blade out, letting the trickle of blood turn into a free flow. Sora’s shirt comes off, now pressed up against the bleeding wound. He must not have any medical training, he’s panicking.

    “Don’t. Let, let the poison drain.”

    “Poison? What do I-“ Itsuki doesn’t hear the rest, attention flickering from Sora’s words to everything else about him. What an angel. The brown in his eyes is rimmed with pure, bright cobalt that has to be his natural colour and brimmed with what could turn into tears. His chest is shuttering almost as much as the ginger’s, making his entire upper body quiver with…

    “A jinchuriki..” Sora flinches, telling Itsuki that the seal he’d spotted is exactly what it looks like. God, no wonder he’s such an angel.

    “You’re so bright.” He pushes the hands trying to help him away, grabbing hold of both wrists and pulling Sora closer to press his lips up against the pale lines adorning the boy’s skin.

    “You’re so much better than them. Whoever hurt you. Don’t let them dull that much shine, there’s so much power in there. Why aren’t you using it?” Itsuki pulls him close enough to touch his seal, finding it unsurprisingly hot to the touch. The swirl is surrounded by tick marks, methodically cut into skin that must heal almost instantly.

    “You’re so bright.” Itsuki’s vision is blurring, putting a halo of light around Sora from the sun rising somewhere behind him.

    “I fell in love with an angel.” He doesn’t hear what the brunette said in response, he can barely even hear himself; going on about the angel in front of him.

    “God, I hope you believe in love at first sight. I love you, I’m in love with you.”

* * *

 

  Naruto wipes the drift from his palms onto his pants, picking up the kunai on the ground beside him and wrapping it carefully in a clean shirt and tucking it into his bag. He never found any ninja, he should get out of here before they find him. He snags a mirror that he found in Itsuki’s bag and looks at his own reflection. The brown he’d picked before brightens to red, freckles appearing over his skin and his eyes waxing from brown to green. He needs a drink.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Sora can translate to 'Universe' , while Itsuki can be interpreted as 'Independence'. I didn't mention it but Itsuki's surname is Aino, which is 'of love' or 'of the love'.
> 
> And, I decidedbit to include The Sex because the chapter was already long enough and I didn’t deem it necessary. I did scribble a little something down separately that I guess I could post, but I dunno


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoo I got kinda carried away with this one, It went super long and I didn't meant to.. well you'll see

  What happens to a will of fire when the ninja it belongs to loses their spark?

  What happens to a person when everything they’ve worked for disappears right before they can reach it? 

  Have you ever felt like time wasn’t real, and you were suspended; floating in nothing with no feeling and no voice, numb to what’s going on around you? Naruto wasn’t floating, he was drowning. Everything came bubbling up and out until he had nowhere to go but deeper inside himself until he was drowning in himself and who he was. Or, who he had always thought he was. Naruto has always thought he was good. That the Will was inside him and he could do his village proud; that he could show everyone he wasn’t the monster they thought he was. But that isn’t true. With every person Naruto, no, With every person  _ Itsuki _ kills, he sees it with more and more clarity. He  _ is _ a monster. And maybe that’s the way he likes it. No grief, no remorse, no regret, no feelings. He can just keep killing until there’s nothing left or who he used to be. 

  No more Sakura, or Kakashi, or Jiraiya. No more.. Sasuke. The only one he can’t rid himself of. The only one he can’t pry from his mind and throw away. The only one who had ever really meant anything to him. Of course Naruto had loved him. More than anything and anyone else Naruto had adored Sasuke, and the feeling is still just as strong but.. different. The love he held for the other boy is gone now, completely replaced with burning hatred. He hates Sasuke, and Naruto doesn’t mind that; what scares him, is that he can’t tell if the feeling is coming from him or the fox anymore. But who cares? Hate is hate, and the bloodlust that comes with it is exhilarating. 

  Naruto has gotten lost in the warmth of others; hot blood splattered across his skin as he slices through bodies, and other hot fluids from boys he wouldn’t remember in the morning. He doesn’t feel anything anymore. Certainly not sympathy for the strangers he kills, who had it coming to them for making enemies of someone with assassin contacts. And this is no different than all the rest. 

  Naruto lingers on a street corner, a lit cigarette tucked between two fingers of his left hand. He’s been watching this group of genin for days, and his target should be coming out this way soon. Extra training is best enjoyed by those without a mark on their head, She should know that. The young ninja walks right past him, not giving a second glance behind her. He keeps a few paces back, but doesn’t seem to be in any danger of being seen even as she slows near a small body of water and steps out onto the still lake. 

  Naruto digs a kunai out of his pouch, running his thumb across the disjointed circle engraved into the metal; the only identity he has. He throws one, Landing it in a tree on the other side of the pond. Good, go over there and look.. She makes a painted noise when his shuriken pierced her back, bearing more than just his crest to finish her off before that kekkei genkai becomes a problem. Speaking of, it sounds like she’s activated the pesky thing to read his chakra. Whatever, using that much of her own will just excite the poison. 

  “N-Naruto?” He flinches, cigarette falling from his fingers. No, no one has called him that since he left. He hasn’t heard the name aloud in who knows how long; he’s lost track of the time since he’d left. 

  “Never heard of him.” He tosses another shuriken, aim level as his voice and striking the ninja in front of him in the throat; keeping her from saying anything more. Her chakra control falters, dropping her from the surface of the water and into the deceptively deep pool. Naruto steps across the rippling water, reaching his hand down through the clear liquid and plucking the kunoichi’s headband from her neck. 

  “Hinata Hyuuga, terminated.” He dashes the leaf’s symbol with a kunai, leaving the blade pierced into the metal as he tosses it over to the grass beside the water. A stick breaks off towards the road. The jinchuriki lowers to all fours, tilting one ear towards the air. Paws. He growls as the hound approaches, no longer a puppy but not nearly as big as he could be. Naruto dislikes killing animals, it’s their own stupid loyalty that makes them follow ninja; bred into them by the very masters they serve. He flicks a wind jutsu in the dog’s direction, throwing him back with a yelp and ripping the beast from consciousness. Dog boy isn’t far behind, skidding to a stop and looking about frantically for his companion. This one is nothing without the dog. 

  “What-“ Inuzuka tilts his head to the side, eyes zeroed in on his assailant. 

  “Naruto?” Twice in one day, a record that won’t be broken. 

  “As I’ve told your teammate here, I’m afraid you’ve mistaken me for a dead man.” 

  “My teammate- Hinata!” He does a sweep of the area, not seeing what’s in front of him. 

  “Do you want me to send you her way?” Naruto takes two steps, blurring into a flash of red and reaching Inuzuka before he could blink; a crack hitting the air and blood splattering across the green grass. He doesn’t bother taking the band from around the boy’s head, stabbing a kunai straight through the metal and pinning it to his forehead. 

  “Kiba Inuzuka, terminated.” A small beetle flies in front of Naruto’s face, catching fire as he lays eyes on it. 

  “Shino Aburame.” He turns, the silent ninja waiting behind him. They lock eyes, both falling into a fighting stance. 

  “You killed them.” It wasn’t a question or an accusation, just a simple statement as though he was telling Naruto that his hair is red. 

  “Believe it.” Aburame flinches harshly, jerking backwards and breaking from his stance. Naruto throws a kunai that the other ninja catches with ease, twirling it on his finger and examining the small blade. 

  “You aren’t on my list, Aburame.”

* * *

 

  Naruto half walks down the path, not sure where he’s going or even what direction this is. He’d killed the girl with ease and stayed to have a few drinks with the rest of her team, not wanting to tip them off if he left just before they went out and found her dead. The little bar had been lively and fun, and Lee more so as he drank; but Naruto could only describe his time upstairs in the small, quiet room with the other boy as extraordinary. Even if the Hyuuga had been on his list, Naruto wouldn’t have killed him; he’s far too pretty, and pleasant. He’d had a thing for him way back when, and all the alcohol they drank reminded him of that time. He’s soft, isn’t he? He can’t get attached to the leaf ninja. Naruto can never go back there, all of it will just happen again. And  _ she _ is still there. Sakura. Naruto can feel the fox inside him when he thinks of her, churning and burning and aching to get out and rip her apart. And if he ever sees her again, he’ll give the demon his wish. He hears rushing water in the distance, veering off to the left and kneeling beside the stream he’d found. Green eyes look back at him. Itsuki looks back at him. That’s him now. The ginger hair that falls in his eyes, trying to hide the patches of freckles on his clear pale skin. His physical activity hasn’t affected the image on Naruto’s skin, making him look deceivingly weak in Itsuki’s body; arms still thin and the rest of him remaining equally as scrawny even after all the rigorous exercise he’s been doing. Killing people is hard work, after all; Naruto has been just about everywhere, including, unfortunately, what was left of Itsuki’s home village. It was a small smithing village, and the first person he’d passed recognised him almost immediately. Spending time trying to be the dead man whose face he’s taken as his own… Naruto went to a different village to commission his custom weaponry. All his shuriken and kunai are decorated with the Namikaze crest, engraved into each blade with care. He’d gotten the information of his parentage easily enough from a leaf ANBU Ninja, and Naruto doesn’t plan to return back to the clan name the 3rd had stuck to him to disconnect a monster from their beloved Hokage. He doesn’t give a damn about the bastard; he’s long dead anyhow. Itsuki Namikaze then, Naruto hadn’t caught the man’s last name in the short time they had together. Of course, Itsuki hadn’t been his real name anyways but Naruto won’t accept his given name. He understands that he had left that behind, just as he’d done himself. A ripple goes out into the water, beginning just under Naruto’s face and spreading out until it’s swallowed the current. He leans away from the water, swiping the back of his left hand across his face. He’s not crying. He doesn’t care. Naruto doesn’t have any feelings left, he doesn’t want to feel anymore. He can kill whoever he wants, he can do whatever he wants. He’s a monster anyway, now he’s just proving it. If no one can take him seriously, then they’re going to fear him. 

* * *

 

  Naruto leans back in his booth, still occasionally poking at the food in front of him that he has no plans of eating. The meal isn’t why he’s here. The trio he’s tailing is still eating, though only one is doing all of said consumption. The big one is much more dangerous than he appears, and Naruto appreciates the opportunity to take him out discreetly like this. The boy says something to his teammates, no doubt telling them that he’s feeling unwell; blaming all the food he’d just eaten. They pack up, with Naruto behind in a minute or two so’s to not be too obvious. The Nara is exceedingly perceptive. He and the girl leave the big one at their room to die on his own, heading out as a squad of two to complete their recon. Looking for him, no doubt. The assassin wiping out ninja in the area, though their little village doesn’t know that he’s doing it to get their attention in the first place. 

  “Wait, Ino, someone is following us.” Shit. He got too close. Naruto throws a shuriken, slicing the girl’s shoulder but not getting off a direct hit. Damn, these aren’t the ideal conditions for a battle with Nara. Maybe.. he does a quick jutsu before stepping closer to the pair, several shuriken at the ready in his left hand. His hand dips into his pouch, finding one of his special kunai and nailing the girl in the base of the neck before either of them could see him move. She stumbles and falls, the dose of antiseptic working quickly on her small body and leaving her companion. He curses under his breath, eyeing up Naruto carefully. 

  “You’re standing in the wrong place, Flash.” Is that what they’re calling him? It’s appropriate; more so than they know. Nara is doing his cute little shadow jutsu, ‘capturing’ Naruto’s shadow and movements. Hm, He’ll play along. 

  He mirrors the boy’s steps and other movements, going so far as to drop his shuriken and take a kunai from his pouch. But, instead of doing harm to himself, he counters the other’s blade and spins both onto the ground. 

  “What-“ Naruto grabs him by the front of his shirt, pulling him close enough to feel his breath and preparing to sink his fangs into the ninja; but their gazes connect and the jinchuriki feels something. He remembers skipping class with this one, smiling and feeling accepted even as those outside their closed doors shunned him; as other parents urged their children to stay away from him. He remembers training with this one into the small hours of morning when both were too haunted by nightmares to sleep; picking him up off the ground when he was hurt and defending him when he was spent. Naruto swallows, grip faltering.

  “N-“ Nara can’t bring himself to say that dead name, the name of a friend he’d lost. 

  “Not anymore.” He drops the other ninja, taking a step away and allowing himself to be studied. 

  “It’s a good Henge. I couldn’t tell.” He still sounds cautious, a hand hovering over his pouch. For the first time since he’d taken Itsuki’s appearance, Naruto allows it to slip off of him; showing Nara everything he’d been running away from. His blonde hair, now grown out and touching his shoulders, his blue eyes, his now darker whiskers, everything that was Naruto was allowed to exist again for a split second before his defences returned. Red hair, freckled skin, green eyes. Itsuki. 

  “N-Naruto, it’s really-!” Shikamaru is awestruck, one hand outstretched as though he expects Naruto to take it. He doesn’t move, so Nara does it for him; taking several steps forward and crashing into the jinchuriki’s chest. 

  “Naruto, you have to come back with me.”

  “No.”

  “But-“

  “No.”

  “I know where I’m not wanted. I know where I don’t belong.” He shoves Nara off him, catching his sleeve and tearing it in his attempt to pry the headband from his clothing. Naruto slashes across the metal plate and dons the band himself, tying it into his ginger locks and situating it on his forehead. Shikamaru takes a step back, finding Naruto’s eyes again and seeing something there that he hadn’t before. He nods, taking another few steps back before turning around and walking slowly away from the jinchuriki. And he lets him go. He would’ve been an easy target like that but Naruto couldn’t bring himself to do it. He couldn’t even say anything to the retreating figure of one of the only friends he’d ever had. It wasn’t meant to be. 

  “Damn it!” He curses, digging through his bag and throwing kunai in all directions; joined by a few shuriken and, after a delay, the prick of a blade at his own skin. One of the shuriken from his bag had scraped across the back of his hand, drawing blood and leaving its poison behind. Well, shit. Naruto makes the poison himself, he knows it by heart; transferred on contact to blood even if it’s just a glancing scratch, spreading far enough to affect heart rate and vision within ten seconds and causing consciousness to be lost within three minutes; killing in a minimum of five and maximum of ten minutes depending on the heart rate and proximity of the wound to the heart and or brain. How long has it been now?

* * *

 

  Naruto groans, fighting his natural urge to open his eyes and squeezing them tightly shut. Is he dead? He shifts slightly, shooting pain through his body and confirming that no, he’s definitely still alive. He relents, opening his eyes slowly and not blinding himself. The ceiling above him is slate grey and framed on all sides by beige walls, the neutral colour interrupted only by a tall bookshelf covering nearly an entire length of the room; its shelves bursting with books that, oddly enough, seem to be organised by the colour of their spines.

  “Are you feeling well?” Naruto jumps, eyes flicking from the bookshelf to frantically search the area around him. The room is closed off and looks to have only one door, most likely made of metal at first glance but he could easily break through it if need be. He’s nestled in a bed and surrounded by sheets of royal purple, two pillows of the same colour behind him. His is the only bed in the medium sized room and he can’t see any other bodies in the space with him. Naruto reaches inside him to call his fox but finds it difficult to get in, or access any of his chakra at all. His chest heaves, breath entering and exiting his body much too quickly to do him any good. The room around him seems to be getting smaller and Naruto feels like he can’t breathe; he continues to scan the room, feeling like he isn’t even looking at anything. What if he is dead? Is this hell? Where’s his fox? Where is  _ he _ ? If his chakra is being blocked that means that he doesn’t have his henge, they could know who he is. Something touches him. Naruto screams. God, he can’t breathe, he can’t.. something warm washes over him, relaxing his muscles and slowing his breathing. Everything focuses around him again as his head clears, the panic fleeing from his system. As everything comes back, Naruto finds himself looking into the bright eyes of a child; both of his small hands resting on the jinchuriki’s chest and emitting a soft green light. Healing chakra?

  “I didn’t mean to frighten you.” The child’s voice is soft, barely audible to Naruto even in a silent room. Sometime in his panic he’d been sat up  and the child is sitting in his lap, legs crossed and arms still reached out towards him.

  “Where-“ Naruto’s voice is scratchy and hoarse, paining him too much to speak any more. The child blinks but says nothing, taking his hands away from Naruto and moving off of him in a blur. The jinchuriki looks around but can’t find him again, leaving him alone this time. The thought had barely crossed his mind when the door swung open and closed just as quickly; two bodies entering the room, one being the child who seems to be on the ceiling. The other makes their way to the side of Naruto’s bed, offering him a tall glass of water that he accepts; looking up at the tall figure as he takes a sip, nearly spitting the cool liquid back out into the glass. Familiar yellow eyes are looking down at him, framed elegantly by a shock of purple. 

  “It’s been a while, hasn’t it Naruto?”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoops this is shorter than I thought and late but it was waaay too long so I cut it into this chapter and the next one
> 
> In other news, I just cried over a comment for the second day in a row (On my R&M fic)

**"Kurama" (Only to Naruto)**

* * *

  Naruto stares at the hands hovering over him, first over his chest and then over to his arm so their owner can pick up his hand and slide his fingers across the tightly wrapped bandages there. 

    “Why are you looking at me like that, Naruto? I hope you know that it would be useless to attempt to take your body, and equally as such to simply kill you; not to mention exceedingly difficult.” Again He flinches at his own name, not accustomed to being addressed by that after so long. How long  _ has  _ it been? Naruto had a tendency to lose days at a time, and he didn’t keep track of the date all that closely anyways. The other leaf ninja had looked different enough, but he hasn’t seen himself since.. well, he sleeps with this henge up. He hasn’t even heard his own voice since he started using Itsuki’s. 

    “Well? I heard you were quite a chatterbox you know, and I’m rather disappointed. Naruto Uzumaki, the-“

    “Don’t.” His voice cracks, the tone uneven from lack of moisture and use of his natural voice. Orochimaru quirks an eyebrow, dropping the blonde’s hand to help him sit back up in bed. 

    “Don’t call me that.”

    “Well what should I be addressing you as, if not your name?” He crosses his arms, looking Naruto up and down and then up at the ceiling above him. 

    “Oh, no, I know.” Orochimaru takes a kunai from his pocket, spinning it in his fingers and showing its owner the symbol etched into it. 

    “Namikaze.” They said it together, blue eyes widening in surprise. The ninja standing before him offers him the glass of water again, which Naruto takes and this time successfully drinks from; easing the scratch in his throat and making him feel more equipped to speak. But when he tries Orochimaru waves him off, and Naruto doesn’t feel like being stupid enough to interrupt that man when he couldn’t even get up to try and walk away, let alone run. 

    “Are you feeling well enough to stand?” His immediate answer would’ve been no, but Naruto takes a moment to realise that all the pain he felt before is mostly gone now. 

    “I.. think so.” Now that his throat isn’t as dry, he’s shocked to hear the tone of his voice has changed almost completely since the last Naruto had heard it. 

    “Perhaps you’d like a mirror first?” Orochimaru offers, pulling a hand mirror out from the folds of his yukata and holding it out for the jinchuriki to accept. He’s hesitant, but reaches out to clasp the silver handle. It’s just his reflection but.. It makes this real. He can’t run back to being someone else after he stops and sees who he really is. Naruto turns the small mirror to meet his own eyes; wide and blue, but no longer shining quite as brightly. 

    “Lord Fourth..” He feels like he’s looking at a photo of the great man, sans the whiskers that are so clearly himself. His blonde hair has grown straight down, now touching his shoulders and even going past them by an inch or two. 

    “Come on Naruto, why don’t you join me for a bath?” He tears his eyes from the mirror to look skeptically at the pale hand being offered to him, the distrust in his eyes more than justified. 

    “I want to have a friendly chat with you, is all. Injury to you wouldn’t be in my best interest, I assure you that I have no plans to lie harm to you.” Well, Naruto has kept worse company in his line of work. There’s no reason not to trust the man now. He takes Orochimaru’s hand, letting the man help him out of bed and even switch hands so one can help support Naruto from behind while he finds his balance. Instinctively, the jinchuriki grabs onto his yukata to keep from falling, bunching up black fabric in his hand and pulling. 

    “Now, now, no need to pull like that.” Orochimaru guides him across the room, lessening his grip as Naruto becomes less shaky and his steps grow more confident. When they reach the door he’s independent, allowing the much taller ninja to release him and grasp onto only his hand. 

    “Kabuto, we’re taking a bath.” He declares before the door is even clear open, but Kabuto was standing there ready for an order. 

    “And, find something in Naruto’s size would you?” The silver haired ninja barely says more than a quick confirmation before he’s gone. Their footsteps echo on the stone walls, just off from being in tandem with each other and making Naruto feel more and more uneasy about the whole thing; even when he’s unable to think of a single reason Orochimaru would want to kill him. He’s not interested in the tailed beasts, if he was Naruto would’ve heard about it. But even with his status, he knows who he is; and that can only make the jinchuriki more nervous. He couldn’t even defend himself like this, he can’t even hear Kurama. Where is he? 

    “What’s troubling you so? If you continue on like that you’ll have another panic attack, you know.” Naruto looks up at Orochimaru, distracting him from the immediate distress and pushing it off to the side. He isn’t usually so prone to panic. 

    “I’m alone.”

    “What do you.. Ah, of course. Apologies for that, but I couldn’t have him ripping apart any more of my nurses. Your chakra will return, and with it so will your demon.” The Word makes Naruto flinch, and he just knows the man saw it. Ripping apart nurses, huh? He’s not surprised. Orochimaru drops his hand to open a door, waving Naruto in ahead and entering into the baths behind him. 

    “Take those off Naruto, the plain colour doesn’t suit you.” He gestures at the standard grey hospital attire, then flagging Kabuto over to begin undoing the folds of his yukata. Naruto shrugs off his clothes, tossing them down into a pile and surprising himself when he sees his own body. Huh, he thought they would’ve faded a little by now. 

    “Quite a scar you have there. Can’t imagine the ninja who left it lived long after the fact.” He moves his hair, pushing the gold curtain over the scar slashed across the back of his neck to hide it from prying eyes. Naruto slides into the water, letting the warm water wrap around him and the hot steam clear his head. 

    “Alright, go ahead.” Orochimaru doesn’t even make a splash as he slips into the water, Kabuto close behind him; already sliding both hands across the sannin’s pristine white skin and scooping up his long hair. 

    “What?” 

    “I know the circle of individuals you’ve been associating yourself with, and that you’ve been most if not completely out of any news or even dates. I’ve been where you are now, Naruto, and it isn’t particularly pleasant. Unless of course you enjoy drinking yourself to death.” Yeah, that’s probably true. 

    “Am I dead yet?” 

    “Hm?”

    “After ninja leave the village, if they don’t find them they pronounce them dead. Has it been that long?” Orochimaru considers it, tapping a finger to his lips. The polish on the man’s pointed nails catch Naruto’s eye, the glossy surface reflecting light back at him. 

    “No. Well, not yet. I have leaf spies among my lower ranks, and I’m sure they’ll be sharing what I’ve told them with the slug soon enough.” 

    “What.. did you tell them.”

    “It mearly came up in conversation that I’d found you out on my travels. Dead.” Naruto lets out a breath, relaxing back into the water around him and letting his eyes tear away from the snake in front of him. He’s officially dead. That’s a liberating feeling. 

    “You know, the leaf has been experiencing problems with their ninja turning up dead on simple missions. You wouldn’t know anything about that, Hm?” Naruto laughs. 

    “How long has it been anyway?” If they were still looking for him, it can’t’ve been any longer than a year, two at the most. 

    “Well, you left around June.. I’d say around five years, give or take a month or two.” The jinchuriki nearly drowns, getting his hair wet at the ends and grabbing at the wall behind him to push back up. Five? Why are they still looking for him?

**“It’s me they want, you know. They’ll never stop chasing you because they won’t give me up.”**

    “Oh, shut up.” Naruto scowls, glaring off to his right as if he could see the demon there beside him. He snaps back to attention, meeting the thoughtful eyes of a snake. His presence is so threatening, yet Naruto feels at ease. There’s no use fearing someone that’s on your side. 

    “Where’s Sasuke?” He holds his breath. Saying the name made his stomach twist and his mouth go dry. His hands are shaking, just slightly. 

**“Feeling sick kit?”**

    “Sasuke? In the village, I presume. Was that the demon, just now?”

    “Yeah, he has a name Y'know; why isn’t he here?”

    “Really? What’s his name then?”

    “Wouldn’t you like to know.” Orochimaru chuckles at him, pulling Kabuto by the arm and sitting the ninja down beside him; hands undoing the man’s hair to fuss with it. 

    “Why isn’t he here?” Naruto presses before the sannin can speak.

    “Sasuke? Why would he be here? He seldom leaves the village at all, really.” The look on the other man’s face is telling Naruto to stop asking questions about Sasuke. He picks his next words carefully. 

    “Why am I here?” A smirk quirks up onto Orochimaru’s lips, his attention now almost completely on the jinchuriki in front of him. 

    “You’re here, Naruto, because I brought you here. I’ve hand picked the most elite of my elite ninja, and I want to give you a place on the team.” A place.. what does that mean? Orochimaru is.. well, Naruto can’t necessarily call him an enemy anymore can he? He has no real reason to hate the man anymore. But, elite? Not exactly how he’d describe himself. 

    “It would be more than a step up from assassination, with a permanent place of residence and no need to wear your little henge. You would be a sound ninja; that alone strikes fear into those who know their place.” He should think about this, it’s a big decision-

**“Do it.”**

    “Yes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow I'm editing this rn and I didn't realise there was so much dialogue in this part jeez


End file.
